Waste Wanted: CitySavings Turns Donated Plastic into School Chairs

"We are proud of our CitySavings Bankers for their all-out support as sustainability stewards. The success of this initiative clearly showed how the spirit of Ubuntu moved us to connect and partner with our stakeholders and communities to minimize our impact on the environment for a better and more sustainable future. This is employee engagement and sustainability in action.” ~Hannah Contreras, CitySavings Human Resources Head

Through its initiative, Turning Plastic into School Chairs, City Savings Bank (CitySavings), the thrift bank subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), which is led by Aboitiz, makes supporting public schools more environmentally friendly.

 

The goal was to gather however much plastic waste from representatives as could be expected in a month, and it was led by the Branch Tasks and HR divisions of the Bank. During the recycling campaign, nearly 2,000 kilograms of waste plastic were gathered from CitySavings corporate offices and branches across the nation. After that, they were given to Envirotech Squander Reusing Inc., a company in Davao City, which limited the production of the school seats to 30 kilograms of plastic waste per seat.

A sum of 50 seats were created and given to the recipients, Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Tunasan National High School in Muntinlupa City and Central Elementary School in Davao City, both in support of the Department of Education's (DepEd) Matatag plan to add facilities and services for basic education.

“Our school population has grown from 6,000 to 9,000 students in the past few years. With this, there is a need to increase the number of facilities to be used by our learners at Tunasan National High School. These sustainably produced chairs donated by CitySavings will not just help 25 students, but generations of students to come.” ~Principal Dr. Ador Querubin

Principal Querubin also highlighted how sustainable practices can make the learning environment more conducive and comfortable for students.

“We are very excited to use these unique and sustainably produced chairs given to us by our partners from CitySavings. We will have them in our Reading Village and Reading Kiosk to help encourage our students to read more. Alam niyo na kung saan kayo lalapit kung nangangailangan kayo. Nandiyan lagi ang CitySavings para tumulong (You know who to turn to when you’re in need. CitySavings is always ready to help.).” ~Principal Riza Lobitos of Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School, In Davao City

The school pledged to support the continuation of this initiative by collecting more empty plastic bottles so CitySavings and its partner can produce more chairs.

As CitySavings incorporates sustainability practices into its operations, the Bank commits to #BEESustainable by continuing its sustainability-driven initiatives that further support our educators and learners while significantly helping the environment.

About City Savings Bank:

City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings) is the thrift bank subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) and a member of the Aboitiz Group. It is one of the largest thrift banks in the country, providing a wide range of mass market financial products and services, such as salary loans to public and private school teachers, pension loans to GSIS and SSS pensioners, motorcycle loans, company employee loans, government salary loans, and traditional deposit products. 

Today, CitySavings has more than 140 branches nationwide. It is well on its way to becoming the leading digital mass market bank in the Philippines, paving the way for inclusive and sustainable prosperity across the country.